Comptech Pivoting Hydrofoil Rack on 2005 XLV

[Ian Brantford]

Howdy. Has anyone tried this rack?

http://www.skyski.com/shop/1/2/51

They love it on the foilfreaks forum. I want to know if it's a good fit for the XLV, and if any adapters are required.

Thanks in advance!

[Ian Brantford]

It looks like Samson now makes a high-end hydrofoil rack too:

http://www.samsonsports.com/hydrofoil_racks.html

Any opinions on how well either one of these fit with the XLV?

[Hydrofoiljunky]

Hey Ian, I'm not sure if the tower on the XLV is the same as the Mobius Tower, But I have a Comptech swivel on my Mobius and LOVE it. Truth is you can't go wrong with the Sampson one either, I've heard good things about it. If you do decide to go with the Comptech you just have to make sure you order the adapter for the right size diameter tubing and you'll be good to go. 2 5/8 Diameter is what the Mobius tower comes in at I believe, someone correct me if I'm wrong? Best money, I've ever spent besides the Fusion Tower Speakers I just bought thanks to some of the good folks on this board. Let me know when it comes in. Thing is built really well.



Chad

[Ian Brantford]

Chad, thanks for your reply. I think that the XLV's tower thickness is 2-3/8", but I'll measure to be sure before I place an order.

Comparing the XLV and LSV (http://moomba.com/mobiusxlv and http://moomba.com/mobiuslsv), you can see that the XLV's rear tower support is swept back a bit more toward the top. That might be a problem if the Comptech cannot be mounted in such a way as to get the foil's wing around the upper part of the tower. It's not clear how the Samson would deal with this either.

I found an on-line video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_t6B7adz3c and it shows the hinge at the shaft's end of the board. However, the second photo at http://www.skyski.com/node/93 shows it at the other end, which would be better for this problem. Do you know if the Comptech can be assembled either way?

[Hydrofoiljunky]

Hey Ian, Looks like the same tower I have on mine from the links you posted up. I forget to mention too that if you end up ordering the Comptech they will or should ask you if you want to mount on drivers side or passenger side, If I'm understanding your correctly about the hinge being on the other side, that may be the difference your seeing. I believe most ppl mount on the drivers side so that's what I went with. It sure might work better for ya on the other though?? Also, send me a private message with your email and I'll shoot ya some pictures of my rack and where I have it mounted for the same problem your were mentioning about the foil hitting the top of the tower. It took a little Finagiling (Is that a word?) But it clears everything fine. The other option too is you could just get a fixed rack :-)

Chad




Chad, thanks for your reply. I think that the XLV's tower thickness is 2-3/8", but I'll measure to be sure before I place an order.

Comparing the XLV and LSV (http://moomba.com/mobiusxlv and http://moomba.com/mobiuslsv), you can see that the XLV's rear tower support is swept back a bit more toward the top. That might be a problem if the Comptech cannot be mounted in such a way as to get the foil's wing around the upper part of the tower. It's not clear how the Samson would deal with this either.

I found an on-line video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_t6B7adz3c and it shows the hinge at the shaft's end of the board. However, the second photo at http://www.skyski.com/node/93 shows it at the other end, which would be better for this problem. Do you know if the Comptech can be assembled either way?

[Ian Brantford]

I got a Comptech pivoting hydrofoil rack for one side and a Comptech pivoting wakeboard rack for the other side. We installed them in 10-15 minutes this morning before heading out from the marina. They are great! It is such a relief to have the hydrofoil out of the interior. The "bow babes" were not happy with having to share space with it.

Comptech did not ask, nor did I think to say, which sides I wanted to mount the racks. They are reversed from what I planned (foil on port, wakeboards on starboard), but now it looks like it really doesn't matter. The hydrofoil rack came with instructions as to how to reassemble it for the other side, but I did not bother.

I did not need the mount extension as I attached the supports so that the ski points to the stern, which allowed the foil blade to be rotated around the outside of the tower's top/rear corner. Maybe if I had the extension, I could switch it forward and clear up that little-used side for ingress/egress of crew, but it looks to be of low priority.

Now we carry the hydrofoil on one side and 3 or 4 wakeboards on the other side (using both the new and one original wakeboard rack).

Chad, thanks again for your help.